Background: The luteal phase supplementation was reported to be necessary in Controlled Ovarian Hyperstimulation cycles for IVF or ICSI, independently when agonists
or antagonist were used for pituitary desensitization. The
effectiveness of GnRH agonist in luteal phase supplementation remains controversial.
Aims and Objectives: This study aimed at comparing the
clinical outcomes of addition of GnRH agonist for luteal
phase support in antagonist IVF cycle.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study of 150
eligible clients who underwent assisted reproduction program in two autonomous IVF centers between 1st January,
2017 and 31st December, 2020. Clients were divided into
two groups; (I) Antagonist stimulation protocol with progesterone and oestradiol valerate and (II) Antagonist Protocol with a single bolus of buserelin in addition to progesterone and oestradiol valerate for luteal phase support. The
primary outcome was live birth rates while the secondary
outcomes were clinical pregnancy, miscarriage rates and
the safety for OHSS.
Results: There were no statistically significant differences
between the number of oocyte received, fertilized, embryos
availability for transfer, duration of infertility, duration of
FSH usage, endometrial thickness and OHSS risk between
the groups (p>0.05). The clinical pregnancy and live birth
rates were more in group II while the miscarriage rate was
lower compared to group I. The differences were statistically significant (p < 0.005).
Conclusion: From this study, buserelin addition to the luteal phase of antagonist cycles appears to improve pregnancy outcomes with no associated increase in OHSS risk.
Further multi- centered studies with larger sample sizes are
required to validate these findings.